Back in October 2017, Brightpearl released some critical findings about cloud-based technology that should have retail brands doing a double-take. During the upcoming winter holidays, stubborn retailers that fail to embrace the newest technologies could cost themselves more than $300,000 in unnecessary expenditures. In their survey of 350 retail company heads, Brightpearl unearthed some astonishing trends that can help explain why.

The survey indicated that rather than drafting a comprehensive plan to combat increased holiday demands, companies essentially throw money at the problem in a blind panic. For example, 

While temporary staff and a heightened product supply may still be helpful in combating demand surges, cloud technology makes it easy to formulate a clear, well-implemented company-wide strategy leading up to the holidays, which can play a major role in reducing unnecessary expenditures. No need for over-hiring or overstocking in hopes that the problem will simply go away. 

Here are a few reasons joining the cloud could help your company fully capitalize on this year’s holiday season.

1. Improved Customer Service

During holiday rushes, top-quality customer service is often the first thing to fall apart. Savvy retailers would do well take a page out of Apple’s book when it comes to efficiently dealing with customer transactions. At The Apple Store, all floor staff are armed with iPhones that use cloud-based technology to accept payments, complete returns and send electronic receipts. There’s no need for customers to wait in line at the cash register. The floor staff helps people find their desired product, and staff members are equipped to handle purchases without delay. With this model, Apple doesn’t need to recruit extra employees to work the register — even during the holiday rush. 

2. Better Internal Communication

Using a mobile point-of-sale device allows immediate changes to be made to a store’s cloud-based inventory. Your employees won’t be madly searching in the back for a product, because the cloud will alert them that the last unit has already been sold. In this way, businesses can reduce wasted time and allow employees to assist the next customer more quickly.

Additionally, minimizing the human error factor in store inventory decreases the odds of unnecessary overstocking. Because cloud-based technology can be accessed from anywhere in the world, you can maintain effortless communication between a store’s departments, the company branches, and even the suppliers as you enter the holiday season.

3. Efficient and Cost Effective

according to an IBM white paper titled Cloud Computing for Retail. In other words, a shocking 85 percent of this computing capacity is being wasted. Cloud technology turns this wasteful dynamic on its head, allowing retail brands to add and decrease incremental capacity depending on demand.

IBM also states 

for retailers than traditional servers. Indeed, effectively using the cloud means lower installation, maintenance and IT charges for retail companies. Simply put, overall costs are consistently and reliably lower.

All in all, it’s clear that businesses would do well to join the 35 percent of retailers who are "very likely" invest in new technology. If Brightpearl’s figures are indeed accurate, retailers stand to save themselves $300,000 this holiday season — and avoid a great deal of stress in the process. Taking advantage of cloud technology now means retail companies will continue to thrive long after the holiday season comes and goes.